Thursday, July 13, 2006

I was watching G4 a while ago and I had seen this preview and thought it would be a good one to get up in the blog! So for all you blog readers, hope you enjoy the clip this is going to be one bad ass game I think! I will get some info posted up on it later!!!

Family guy is one of my favorite shows on t.v. Here are some funny clips of stewie, he has got to be one of the funniest mutha%@!as on earth!! heh! if you have any good links to family guy vids leave them in the commment box!

I love to get my hands on good articles concerning Games!!!! Here is yet another article for all you game lovers out there!!

Author: Brendon Kirk

For the uninitiated, MMORPG stands for Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. The basic premise of these epic online games is that players from around the world converge on servers to do battle against computer driven opponents and often each other. Each server can hold on average up to 5,000 players at a time. It is then no wonder that these servers become home to a unique subculture of players who eat, sleep and breathe these fantasy worlds - sometimes to the detriment of everything else in their life. Countless News articles tell of players whom have forsaken family, friends, jobs and sometimes even their own lives to continue to play. Big companies continue to make money while people’s lives are turned upside down by the constant attention that these types of games demand of their players. So what keeps players coming back every day and why do they pay for the privilege?

As an ex-MMORPG enthusiast I can tell you that the hooks for players are many and varied. For the casual player the level increase and the character statistic boosts associated are your first traps. Knowing that you are only a few hours away from being better at fighting the monsters that haunt your online existence is a very good reason to keep playing. Who wouldn’t want to be 10 points stronger for only a few hours work? The problem with this is that the games designers are always one step ahead of you. Now that you can easily kill the monsters you were struggling with only moments before you leveled up, they are worth virtually no experience points. This means that in order to get to your next level, you will have to go out and find some harder monsters to kill. To someone on the outside of the trap, it is painfully obvious what is happening here - you really haven’t progressed at all. Then why do people keep playing?

Equipment drops. While you are fighting those creatures to get more experience points to go up levels to fight more monsters, they have a chance to drop useful equipment each time you kill them. Unlike the leveling process which is very linear, good equipment can drop at any time but quite often doesn’t. It seems that no matter what equipment drops, there will always be something bigger or better that the player is waiting for. Again, the onlooker can see that this is nothing more than a form of gambling. Granted the cost is only slight in real dollar terms, but the players’ time is the commodity that is spent in this transaction.

The combination of gaining new levels and waiting for equipment to drop can keep a player occupied for weeks on end. So what happens when the player realizes that this is going on and decides that they might be better off doing something a little more productive with their time? The games designers are hoping by this stage that players have made friends in the virtual world with whom they can chat and share their experiences. This makes leaving the game all the more difficult as other people may have grown to rely on the unique skills a certain player can bring to the game. Peer pressure is as alive in MMORPG players as it was in the schoolyard and this can be one of the biggest factors for people to keep playing. When players are in the game for more than a few months they are highly unlikely to give it up due to a combination of all these hooks.

Just like anything else that comes with the risk of addiction; this does not affect the entire gaming population. It is also something that I think we can’t just ignore anymore. There are so many similarities between an MMORPG and any other type of addiction that it’s hard not to become quite worried about people who are caught in this particular trap. You wouldn’t want any of your friends or family to have an uncontrollable problem with alcohol, drugs or gambling, yet we tend to see no immediate harm in someone playing a computer game to excess. With the influx of new players to this genre I think our attitude will have to change towards the ever growing problem of digital addictions before we start to loose too many good people to it.

Brendon Kirk is a creative writer working at M6.Net: ‘The web-hosting company for humans.’ M6.Net is working hard to help humanity experience the power and freedom to develop their own part of the Internet, to share their information and connect with anyone, anywhere, anytime.

These are the types of trailors that make me forget about ps3's price tag and just drool! You gotta love the graphics and the power this machine has to offer. I wonder how well the ps3 is going to do this coming holiday season? Does anybody think that the wii will be able to capture the market by getting the console on the shelve first?

Monday, July 10, 2006

Greetings and welcome to my grinding strategy. Head to 1K needles to freewind post, Once youget there goto the base of the mountain right at the elevators, Now from the farthest northelevator look north-east and you will see a VERY small little crack between the rocks (a smallvalley if you will) Go through there and there is a HUGE centaur encampment on theotherside(SplitHoof Crag). Just grind here, the centaur windcallers (I think) will heal themselfsor there allies after they drop below 50% health. The scouts are not much, they mainly useranged attacks, and the wranglers with ensnare you for 8seconds once they get to 50%health...

I did this with my my troll shaman, im not sure how well it would work as alliance since this isan area were alot of horde stay due to quests... But I seemed to be the only one grinding there.Also if you're in the area the large green flying dragon type things I found to be quite easy todefeat (sorry I forget their names) and they also skin heavy leather quite regularly. I found thisarea in general to be very leveling friendly. Good tip.

If you're in the alliance, and are trying to figure out a way to get down the elevators (hencepast the orc guards) there are two methods.

1. Send your pet in and sacrifice it for the sake of personal progress.2. Go to the left of the elevators, just out of aggro range. Burst past the guards and attempt totime the departure of the elevator with your arrival.

The guards get a bit confused when nearing the elevator and don't go on it.........big issue hereis not getting hit. If you get dizzied you're toast.

Sunday, July 09, 2006

The ever-popular weapon-oriented fighting game franchise is back, with new characters, new gameplay modes, and stunning new visuals. Once again, you can choose from dozens of your favorite Soul Calibur characters, select your weapon, and lay the unholy smackdown on your opponents in what I consider to be the most in-depth player-vs-player combat system of any I've ever played. Story mode is about the same as ever, where you can take your character on a path of battles across the land of Soul Calibur 3 in search of information about the evil Soul Edge sword, your ultimate plan for the weapon depending on the good or evil alignment of your character. This time, the actual path you take can end up having more effect on how your story progresses than in any of the past games. As well are the quintessential player-vs-player VS modes, the Gallery for viewing unlockables, and the basic training and practice modes. However, there are now even more intriguing things to discover, including the never-before-seen Custom Character creation feature in which you can take different parts and outfit items and custom-make your own character based upon a class template that defines what weapon- and move-sets the character can choose from. In the all-new Chronicles of the Sword mode, you can utilize this feature to play out an RPG-like campaign that allows you to advance custom characters through experience levels and eventually unlock new parts and movesets for particular classes, as well as earn game currency (Gold) to buy new parts, classes, and other unlockables. The Soul Arena makes its appearance, and allows you to try for more Gold by testing yourself in a selection of unique challenges. Nearly every Soul Calibur character from all of the former games becomes unlockable, excluding of course the bonus platform-exclusive characters of Soul Calibur 2, but also including 3 completely brand new characters with their own styles of butt-kicking.

The Ratings

Concept: The super-popular game franchise makes its return, with more of the same, and a buttload of new stuff. The battle system is tried-and-true, and even a little bit innovated-upon since the last installment in the series. The storyline is pretty much the same as the past couple games, although the timeline has progressed to continue where the more satisfactory character endings of Soul Calibur 2 left off. Bring in a blaze of new features like the custom character creation and the brand new standard characters, and you get yourself an excellent addition to an excellent series. I give the concept of Soul Calibur 3 a very pleased 9/10.

Visual Effects: This game is the best-looking so far out of the series, as well it should be. The characters are smoothly animated and the levels in which you battle are also very animated, and really quite beautiful. Waterfalls, windmills, swaying foliage, and flocks of birds all add to the great atmosphere of the game as you brutally smash the crap out of your opponents. The color palette has never been so wide-ranged, and there isn't a dull color scheme in this game. Even the classic underground tomb levels are semicolorful. I give the visual effects of Soul Calibur 3 a heartfelt 9/10.

Sound Effects: Between the triumphant background music, the vivid and lifelike sounds of the scenery, and the constant quips and bantering of the combatants, Soul Calibur 3 has all you'll ever need for sound effects. It's not what makes this game shine, but there is nothing more you can ask for in a rough-em-up game like this. I give the more than satisfactory sound effects of Soul Calibur 3 a very solid 8/10.

Mechanics: As we've come to expect from the Soul Calibur franchise, the mechanics are absolutely superb. Movement and execution is perfectly fluid, and the innovative battle system that has made the series famous is in its finest form. Whether you're dodging, striking, parrying, or locking your opponent into a vicious attack throw, every move is unique and flawlessly executed, so long as you're skillful enough to make your hits land on an equally skillful opponent. The sheer range of motion and vast arsenal of individual moves and stances is nearly overwhelming, and it's most likely the main thing that keeps fans coming back for more. I give the game mechanics of Soul Calibur 3 a perfect 10/10, and I mean it.

The Bottom Line

Fans of the franchise will not be disappointed, and this game could be the one to draw any number of new players. With more to offer than ever before, Soul Calibur 3 is without a doubt the best of its kind on the market today. It's a proud addition to my personal collection, and every person I've ever spoken with who's played it has absolutely loved it. I strongly recommend this game to anyone who's either an existing fan of the series or simply a fan of medieval-ish personal combat in its best form.

A professional gamer-geek who wants to spread his opinions to the world and hopefully help other gamers like himself to find quality games for good deals. I'm here to help with gameplay problems at fenix_arisen@yahoo.com.

It's true the video game testing industry generates billions of dollars each year according to an outside source. A video game to produce and make takes a lot of time and energy to fully get it complete and live. Programmers consistently work and develop the coding behind the game level by level. During this process, there needs to be people who actually go through each program or module and test to make sure everything is working properly.

This is where the game tester job comes in. Companies eagerly seek people who will diligently test thoroughly new games while they are in the work in progress stage. Being a video game tester is not as easy as many people think. You can't just go to work and play the video games you want all day. Basically you make have to play the same game, same level, and same area of the game for days or weeks straight making sure that every step, move, etc. works properly.

Video game testing can be a tedious job, but the pay is definitely beneficial. Top video game testers make up to $80 per hour which is equivalent to around $200,000 per year. Starting wages for a video game tester can range from around $10 per hour, but that will go up quickly as you begin your video game tester job. Finding out how to get these video game tester jobs is not that easy because of the demand in the industry. You won't find these jobs available on Monster or HotJobs. There are certain websites that provide all the information to access many companies that are looking to hire video game testers.